By CJ Lester | CJ Lester Investigates
When voters in Conyers went to the polls and elected Connie Alsobrook as mayor, they weren't electing a team. They were electing her, one person, to lead this city with the capability, energy, and commitment the office demands. So it raises a serious question when, barely into her tenure, supporters are already standing at the podium asking the city council to bring in help to manage her workload.
With all due respect, that's not how this is supposed to work and CJ Lester Investigates intends to find out if it needs to.
Let's think back to Mayor Vince Evans. During his time leading Conyers, nobody rushed to a council meeting pleading for him to have a part-time assistant to handle his emails and phone calls. Evans managed the demands of the office, engaged with the community, and kept things moving without asking taxpayers to foot the bill for additional administrative staffing. The office didn't suddenly get harder, the question is whether the person sitting in it is prepared for what comes with the title.
Now we're being told that Mayor Alsobrook's packed schedule of community involvement is exactly why she needs help. But wasn't all of that part of the job description? Did no one explain before she campaigned that being mayor of a growing city means a high volume of calls, emails, and meeting requests? That's not a surprise, that's the job.
When you run for mayor you are telling the people of this city that you are ready. You are telling them you have what it takes to handle the phone calls, the emails, the meetings, the community events, and everything else that comes with the position. You don't get to win the election and then turn around weeks later and say the workload requires additional help. Either you were ready or you weren't.
That is exactly why I am filing Open Records Requests with the City of Conyers under the Georgia Open Records Act. I want to see the actual numbers, how many calls is the Mayor's office receiving, how many emails, how many constituent meeting requests? I want to see any internal memos or budget documents used to justify this request. And I will be comparing those numbers against the exact same window of time from former Mayor Vince Evans' tenure, his first 48 days in office, January 12, 2018 through March 1, 2018, matched against Mayor Alsobrook's first 48 days, January 7, 2026 through February 24, 2026. Same timeline, same records, same standard. If the data supports the need for an assistant, this outlet will say so plainly. But if the numbers don't back up the claim, Conyers taxpayers deserve to know that too.
The real issue here is accountability. Voters elected Mayor Alsobrook to handle the responsibilities of that office herself, not to delegate them to someone they didn't vote for and didn't vet. Change should mean growing into the role, not growing the payroll to compensate for it.
Conyers is a city with real challenges, stormwater management, traffic concerns, economic development, public safety. The mayor needs to be fully capable of managing the demands that come with the role. If the workload is genuinely unmanageable, the data will show it. But right now Conyers taxpayers are being asked to expand the payroll based on nothing more than a feeling and that is not good enough.
This is not a personal attack on Mayor Alsobrook. She may very well be working hard and doing her best. But public office demands public accountability, and that accountability begins with transparency. The Open Records requests have been filed. When the city responds, CJ Lester Investigates will report exactly what the records show, whatever that turns out to be.
Mayor Evans set a standard. The voters of this city deserve to know whether the person they elected can meet it.
The office hasn't changed. The expectations shouldn't either.
CJ Lester is an independent journalist covering Newton, Rockdale, and Walton Counties. He can be reached through CJ Lester Investigates.
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